I suppose I should start at the beginning of this story.

I won't get into the process of deciding, but I will begin when I made the decision to ask Medina to marry me. It was the middle of May, and while we had spoken briefly about marriage, we hadn't spoken in specific terms. We said enough to know that we both wanted to be married one day, but were careful to avoid specifics. I think we were both trying not to put any kind of undue pressure on each other.

So I guess you could say that I was taking a chance when I decided to make it a surprise. It didn't feel like I was taking a chance, but I was careful to avoid making assumptions about Medina's reaction. I didn't want to jinx anything.

The process of making the decision was actually quite quick. I thought about it, considered my options, and settled on the plan: I would propose while we were down in Georgia, on Jekyll Island. It is Medina's favorite place in the world, and I couldn't possibly think of a better place to ask.

Once I settled on a plan, I went to Davis Jewelers to take a look at rings. I spoke with Patti Luckett, who had been very helpful picking the necklace and earrings I gave Medina for Christmas. She also happened to be a friend of the family, and had grown-up next door to my mom, so I felt comfortable dealing with her.

I told her what I wanted, and gave her a general idea of what I thought Medina would like. She brought me some diamonds from which to pick, and I found the one I wanted almost immediately. She didn't push me in any particular direction, but was happy when I picked the one I did. She said that it was her favorite by far, and that they could barely keep them in stock because they sell so quickly. We found a band and setting that looked good with the diamond, and I estimated the size based on some covert reconnaissance I performed before going shopping. (I tried-on one of Medina's rings, finding that it fit my pinky a little loose.

Patti said that it would be a couple weeks before the ring was made and ready to pick up. I could barely wait. In the mean time, I told my parents and made arrangements with my dad to hold onto it before our trip. I had to be careful to hide the paperwork. It was while I was hiding the paperwork that it hit me just how hard it was going to be to keep the secret. I vowed to limit the number of people I told, to reduce the likelihood that someone would accidentally say something to tip-off Medina to my plan.

I got the ring a couple of weeks later, and took it directly to my dad's house, where he put it in his gun safe. I thought it would be ok there. There wasn't much of a chance that Medina would have to get in there anytime soon.

I'll jump ahead a couple of months now. There isn't much to tell about that time, other than to say that I was going absolutely crazy keeping the secret. I wanted to tell people so badly that I could barely contain myself!

The time came for the trip to Myrtle Beach and Georgia. We packed and prepared, and I made approximately 64 phone calls to my dad to make sure he packed the ring, and that it was safe, and that he didn't forget to pack it and that he didn't forget the suitcase in which he packed it.

When we got to the condo in Myrtle Beach, I checked with my dad when I had a chance, to see where he had placed the ring. It was in it's box, in a bag, in his underwear drawer. I took a look at it; the first time I had done so since I picked it up from the jewelry store.

There were a couple of close calls, when Medina very nearly stumbled upon the bag with the box with the ring. You would think that it would be safe in my dad's underwear drawer, but some unusual circumstances nearly changed that.

My dad got sick after we went to play golf on Tuesday. It was extremely hot, and he got a little overheated. It came to pass that he was going to go to the hospital to get checked-out. Jeanie, my stepmother, asked Medina to bring her a sweater from our room to keep warm in the waiting room at the hospital. Medina asked where to find one, and Jeanie said "it's in the dresser somewhere, just go through the drawers and you'll see it."

I just about had a heart attack. I quickly volunteered to go with Medina, and when we got to the room, made a point of getting the sweater myself. It was a close call, but I didn't think Medina would have any reason to be suspicious.

Then, when we were at the hospital, Jeanie asked that we go back to the condo to get some dry clothes for my dad. Again, I had to make a point of getting them myself, assuring Medina that my dad might not be comfortable with her going through his underwear drawer. I was a little worried that I might have made too big a deal of it, but I think I was just being paranoid.

We left for Georgia on Wednesday morning. On that morning, we woke up early, ate breakfast, and packed for our side-trip. I snuck over to my dad's room while Medina was in the shower, and got the ring. Patti at Davis Jewelers gave me a little cloth pouch for the ring, so I wouldn't have to have the ring box in my pocket, or even worse, have it loose in there and risk it falling out.

We rode all the way down to Georgia with the ring in my left front pants pocket. I tried to avoid paying any obvious attention to that pocket, but I kept checking to make sure it was still there. It was a very nice drive down the coast through Charleston and Savannah. We hit the Brunswick area early in the afternoon.

We went straight to Jekyll Island, and by the time we got there I was running pretty low on gas. I was starting to get anxious, so I didn't want to stop for anything. I wanted to go straight there and ask her. The gas could wait.

Medina was visibly anxious as well. I guess she was just excited about being at her favorite place. We had been talking about being there for quite a while, so there was a big build-up.

We found the turn-in for Clam Creek and Driftwood Beach and headed for the small parking lot at the end of the road. We got out, and the heat hit us hard. Hot and humid; very hot and humid. We walked past a kid sitting at a picnic table, sorting through his crab catch. At this point I was squeezing Medina's hand pretty hard. We could see Driftwood Beach.

We walked on the footbridge across clam creek and onto the beach. There were only a couple of people out there, and they left shortly after we arrived. As we walked over to a big piece of driftwood, we took a couple of pictures of each other and then together. I put the camera down asked Medina to take her sunglasses off so I could see her eyes, grabbed her by both hands and started to say the things that had been running around in my head for days.

I was happy that I said everything I wanted to say. I was happy that I didn't stumble or stutter. I said that I loved her. I told her that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. And then I dropped to my knee and asked her if she would "do me the distinct honor of marrying me and becoming my wife."

She was stunned. The first thing she said was "Are you serious?" It wasn't so much a question as it was a statement of shock and disbelief. I shook the ring a little in front of her and said "Yes. I am serious." Then she seemed to come to her senses a little and said "YES! YES! YES!"

After that it's all a bit of a blur. We took a couple more pictures, hugged and kissed each other repeatedly and then proceeded to call everyone we could think of to tell them the good news.

The rest of the trip was fantastic, and it was very nice to be able to celebrate then good news with my family when we returned to Myrtle Beach. It was definitely the best vacation I've ever taken.